


Sakura and Sunflowers

by shaysdragon



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, Hanahaki Disease
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2020-03-13 21:05:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18948643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shaysdragon/pseuds/shaysdragon
Summary: For the AO3 Armada Prompts -Gray and Lucy take a few jobs while their friends are working on other projects. Loke decides to tag along. What could go wrong?**********This is a WIP based on the AO3 Armada's monthly prompts. Each chapter is a different prompt, but the story will be one cohesive whole.Chapter 1 - Hanahaki DiseaseChapter 2 - RitualsChapter 3 - Fireworks/Family





	1. Flowers

“Open Gate of the Lion – LEO!”  
  
A flash of yellow gold and a sunburst of glitter sparkles sparked into existence as Lucy threw herself into a duck and roll maneuver to avoid the dark magic bolt that was streaking toward her with increasing speed. Out of the sparkles a gorgeous man with untamed ginger hair, a perfectly tailored suit, and blue glasses that did nothing to hide his piercing black eyes, sauntered casually out of the portal from the Celestial Realm. “Lucy, my love! How can your lion assist- OW!”  
  
Loke grabbed his arm as a bolt of energy sliced through his jacket. He quickly flung himself to the side and assessed the situation. He expected to see Erza, Natsu, and Wendy battling a group of enemies, with their Exceeds ducking in and out of the fight; he did not expect to see Gray trapped in a dark magic binding, unable to use his ice-make magic and his darling Lucy backed into a corner, the rubble of a destroyed house the only thing shielding her from the mage’s blasts.  
  
“Lion Brilliance!” Loke shouted and used the momentary blinding distraction to run to Lucy’s side. “What’s happening, Lu? Where are the others?”  
  
“Erza is on some super-secret mission for the Council. Natsu, Wendy, Gajeel, Laxus and the dragonslayers from Sabretooth, all decided that they needed to get together and test their magic, so they disappeared somewhere up in the mountains. Gray and I got bored just hanging around the Guild and decided to take a few jobs together. We have been working really well together until this guy. He got the drop on us. Gray got caught in the trap meant for me.” Lucy spoke quickly as she filled Loke in on the situation.  
  
“Come out, come out, little celestial mage,” a nasally voice taunted from the other side of the wall, “I have your friend. He’s definitely pretty enough for my clients. Can take a beating too, from the looks of it.” Lucy and Loke watched as Gray struggled and yelled against the magic wrapped around him. The bindings writhed in a way that left no doubt of the lascivious intent behind the mage’s words.  
  
“Gray,” Lucy whimpered and Loke felt a sharp pain in his chest. “We have to get him out there. I was supposed to be the bait,” she continued, “turns out his clients prefer males rather than females, though they will take girls occasionally. The priestess who posted the job was female, so we went into this all wrong.”  
  
“We’ve got this, Lucy,” Loke pushed his voice past the weird pain in his chest. “Now that you have me, there’s no one we can’t take down. Besides you are so much sexier than Gray.”  
  
Lucy smiled wanly and took a deep breath, her smile strengthening, “Is there any moment when you aren’t flirting?” Before Loke could answer, she spoke again, “Star Dress: Sagittarius Form!” Golden light surrounded her and her clothing shifted into a twin tailed coat and thigh high boots, the arrow of Sagittarius on her left shoulder.  
  
“You are costuming the way Erza requips now?” Loke asked with confusion in his voice.  
  
“Ya, I discovered that depending on whose Star Form dress I wear, I can borrow some of their skill,” Lucy responded distractedly as she peeked around the corner and pulled back as another bolt of dark energy fired past. “We’ve been practicing it on these jobs to make me a stronger teammate. Sagittarius is perfect for marksmanship.”  
  
“What do you get from my Star Dress?”  
  
Lucy dodged another bolt as it crashed into the wall behind her. “Look. Can we discuss this later? Gray is in trouble!”  
  
“Right. On the count of three. One. Two. Thr-“  
  
“Star Shot: Energy Arrows!” Lucy jumped out before Loke had finished the word.  
  
“Regulus Impact!”  
  
The mage jumped and twisted as both light and a volley of energy arrows screamed toward him. Rubble rained down on him as he got up for another attack. “Dark Energy: Whiplash!” A ribbon of dark energy, similar to the one wrapped around Gray, lashed out at Loke and Lucy. The mage cackled as his foes were once again forced to jump out of the way. Pushing his advantage, he continued to fire volley after volley of bolts their way.  
  
“This isn’t working,” Lucy grunted as they were forced to retreat back behind the rubble wall.  
  
“Let me try again,” Loke made ready to jump back out.  
  
“Wait,” Lucy caught his arm, “What about a Unison Raid?”  
  
“I thought that only worked with another Mage?”  
  
“Technically, if you go to human form you are a Mage, right?”  
  
“I guess, I never thought about it quite like that. But Lucy, You know how dangerous a Unison raid can be. If the two mages aren’t completely willing to unite, it can backfire on both.”  
  
“I’m willing if you are,” Lucy grinned. “Besides, it could be fun! Don’t tell me you are a cowardly lion.” She winked at him, “Star Dress: Leo Form!”  
  
_Is… is Lucy… flirting… with me?_ Loke shook his head and coughed a few times, trying to dislodge whatever stubborn thing had seemingly taken up residence in his chest. “Oh, princess, there isn’t anything I am not willing to try with you.” Loke cringed internally at how cheesy the phrase sounded. To cover he added, “Transformation!” and his spirit form morphed.  
  
Lucy nodded at the now human Loke. “Let’s do this!”  
  
Hand in hand, they stepped out from behind the wall. “Unison Raid: Regulus Metria!”  
  
A blinding light surrounded them, rippling out in waves, as Loke felt himself turn toward Lucy and the single interconnected hand became two, pointing and directing the energy towards their enemy. As the spell continued to build, Loke felt himself drawing Lucy completely into his arms, his body pressing as tightly as it could against hers, still wanting more, craving an even closer connection - the power of Regulus building to a level that he didn’t know was possible. With an almost audible “whoosh”, the energy left their bodies and rushed at their opponent.  
  
The dark mage screamed as the light impacted his body, lifted him, and threw him backwards to crash into another building. The dark energy that he had been manipulating fading as he slid down the wall to crumple into a heap at the bottom.  
  
The light around them fading, it took Loke a moment to get his bearings, his body still singing from the energy exchange that had so recently filled it. Far too soon for his liking, Lucy pulled away from him and rushed to Gray.  
  
“Gray! Are you ok?” Lucy cried as she approached.  
  
“Fi-fine,” Gray coughed as tried to stand up. Wobbling and completely unsteady on his feet, Lucy caught him and wrapped her arm around his waist to steady him. “I guess that didn’t go to plan.”  
  
“You could say that,” Lucy put a hand to his cheek and said sternly, “next time, we need to plan for something like this,” then she smirked, “after all – You’re the pretty one.”  
  
“Don’t remind me,” Gray rubbed his head with his free hand. “I don’t know how you do it, Lu. It’s not a cool feeling when someone wants you like that.”  
  
Lucy’s smile hardened and she sighed, “I wish I could say that you get used to it, but you really don’t. You just have to keep reminding yourself that your true friends see your value beyond your physical appearance.”  
  
Gray smiled down at her, feeling the connection in the steadying arm she provided, “You are something else, Lucy. But yeah, next time, we plan better.” He tucked a loose strand of hair that had been tickling his shoulder behind her ear. “Or we make sure that Erza and the numbskull are with us.”  
  
Lucy laughed. “Ready to take this guy in and collect our reward?”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
Across from them but still too far away to hear their conversation, Loke saw Lucy touch Gray’s cheek and smile at him. A small cough bubbled up in his chest. When Gray then tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with a smile as well, that bubble turned into a fit. Turning away, he started coughing in earnest. _I can feel something there. Come out, you bastard._ Giving one last hard cough, Loke pulled his hands away to see a single sakura blossom, tinged with blood, resting on his palm.


	2. Just a little after-job ritual

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am admittedly stretching the idea of a ritual here. In this instance I am using this definition:
> 
> Ritual - adj. (of an action) arising from convention or habit.  
> "the players gathered for the ritual pregame huddle"

“What the-“ Loke’s thought was interrupted as Gray, clasped a hand on his shoulder from behind.

“You ok, man?” Gray asked, concern in his voice. “Coughing fits aren’t really your thing. Did that jerk get you?”

Loke closed his fingers around the blossom and stealthily tucked it in his pocket as he turned to face his best friend. “Nah, just a little something stuck in my throat. How are you doing? Not used to seeing you caught up like that.”

Gray ran his hand through the black hair at the back of his head, “Yeah, I’m fine. Wasn’t paying enough attention.” He looked over at Lucy. “I’m just glad that Lucy was able to dodge it. It held me, but I had the wrong type for magic for it to do anything else.”

Loke followed Gray’s eyes to Lucy, where she knelt rummaging through her bag, muttering to herself.

“She didn’t tell you about the threats she’s received lately, did she?” Gray asked quietly.

Loke’s head snapped back to Gray and he glared at the other man. “Threats?” he nearly growled.

“Yeah, she’s pretending that they are nothing and dismissing them, but I happened to read one of the notes before she hid it. Someone is obsessed with our Lucy. It’s partly why I started doing jobs with her since flame-brain and Erza are off doing their thing. Started out wanting to just keep an eye on her but we have been a better team than I expected.” Gray walked over to the fallen mage, slapped a pair of magic nullifying handcuffs on him and used his ice-make magic to create a cage. “There, that should keep him until tomorrow. A night in the forest isn’t going to hurt him.”

“Lucy’s never exactly been weak, but since Tartaros, she’s stronger than I have ever seen her and she just keeps getting more so,” Loke replied distractedly, thoughts of a new threats swirling in his head, deliberately avoiding thinking about the admiration in Gray’s voice. “She doesn’t need me as much as she used to. She and Virgo can usually handle anything that gets thrown at them. Still, if there’s someone after her, maybe I should stick around.”

Gray cleared his throat and hesitated for a half-second before responding, hoping that Loke hadn’t notice, “Sure, man. We could use the help. Ummm… there’s just one thing that I should probably tell you about. You see, Lucy and I have developed this, well, ritual-kind of thing after completing a job where we-“

“Found it!” Lucy cheered triumphantly, holding up a dark blue scrap of fabric. “Now we hope it’s available.”

“- visit the local hot springs to relax, before heading back to the guild,” Gray finished lamely while a faint blush colored his cheeks.

Loke whipped his head between them, noting Gray’s look of embarrassment and Lucy’s eager anticipation. He bit back his flare of jealousy and threw an extra ounce of charisma into his voice as he said with a purr, “Why Lucy, if you wanted me to stay, all you had to do was ask.” He dissolved in a bright burst of light and reappeared wearing red shorts with cartoon lion heads on them and an inflatable rubber duck tube around his waist. “Did someone mention swimming?”

Lucy laughed, “It’s more of a soak than a swim, but sure, you are welcome to join us. It’s kind of become our thing,” Lucy smiled at Gray, “I mentioned that I missed the baths at Fairy Tail after a nasty job, and Gray suggested that we find a place to soak before we headed back. It really helps the immediate aches and pains from the job. I was just worried that I forgot my yuami-gi since this place only has a single pool.”

Loke’s eyes twinkled and he started to respond but Gray slapped a hand over Loke’s mouth before any words could escape. “Don’t even think about saying whatever you were going to say.” He mumbled before saying more loudly, “we’re ready. Lead on.”

Lucy nodded, “Open gate of the little dog, Plue!” A light flashed and Lucy’s favorite little celestial spirit popped up and jumped into her arms. “Ready?” she asked the trembling bundle in her arms. “Which way?”

“Plue plue,” the little spirit looked thoughtful, looked around and then pointed in a direction to the left of where they were standing, “Plue!”

“That way, huh?” Lucy questioned.

“Plue, plue!”

“Ok. I trust you,” Lucy smiled and set the spirit down. She followed after it as it skipped down a path between the trees.

“What’s all that about?” Loke asked Gray gesturing to Plue.

“Why don’t you ask Lucy,” Gray replied as he walked after Lucy.

“There seems to be a lot I don’t know,” Loke muttered before looking up to find his companions had already left, “Hey! Wait Up!”

*****

Ten minutes later, the trio stopped as they reached a point in the path where it split in two. Plue sat at the crossroads, shivering and shifting its head first toward path then the other. Lucy stood over it gently encouraging. “Which way do you think? Remember, focus on what you are looking for and feel yourself being pulled to it.”

“Plue…”

“I know this one is harder, but I believe in you.”

Plue squeezed its eyes tight, gave one big shake and then pointed to the right, “plue plue!”

“It’s just at the end of this path?” Lucy asked.

“Plue” it nodded its head.

“Awesome!” Lucy stretched and took off running, “Race You!”

Plue bounced happily after her as Loke and Gray quickened their pace to keep up.

Just as Plue had indicated, there was a hot spring pool about 5 minutes down the path. Walking up to it, the trio could see the steam rising off the milky surface. It was currently empty and both Loke and Gray let out a sigh of relief.

“Looks like no one is around,” Lucy said with a smile. “I can’t say that I am complaining. Is there a marker to put up that it is in use?”

Gray nodded, “I’ll look.”

“Is this open to everyone?” Loke asked curiously.

“It is, but it is on the Temple's private land. The priests and priestesses apparently use it in rituals, so when we met with the woman confirming the job, she mentioned that when a certain marker is up, it’s a warning that privacy is requested. A different color marker means all are welcome to join.”

“So if we put the privacy one up, we won’t be bothered by anyone else?” Loke suddenly had a vision of Lucy and Gray sharing this pool alone together, wet bodies and sweat drenched skin. Loke coughed violently at the sudden flutter in his chest. He could feel the petal creeping up, but by sheer will forced it back down.

“That’s the idea,” Gray replied, a look of concern for his friend, as he walked back toward them, unconsciously stripping off his clothing as he approached the pool.

“Gray!” Loke darted between Gray and Lucy’s line of sight with a flare of light as the ice mage slipped out of his pants and started walking fully naked toward the pool.

Gray shielded his eyes with his arm, “Ow! What’s up man, I am just trying to get into the pool.”

“Clothing?” Loke said archly, still holding a light to block Gray’s body from Lucy’s view.

“Oh don’t worry about it Loke,” Lucy said with only a tiny quiver of embarrassment in her voice, “It’s not like I have never seen Gray naked before.”

“What do you mean,” Loke whipped his head around and caught the flash of Lucy’s bare back as she turned to motion Plue over to her, then turning back to them with Plue in her arms. He gasped at the sight, a bolt of electricity hitting him square in the solar plexus. _Wait, Lucy’s naked too?!?_ The light faded from shock.

“Just what she said, idiot,” Gray replied with a bit of a smirk as he also stepped into the cloudy water.

“Gray, you’re making it sound like something bigger than it is,” Lucy said as she turned bright pink. Not quite looking Loke in the eyes, she continued. “It’s a skill that I am working on.”

“How exactly is being naked a skill?” Loke’s eyes narrowed as his hands moved to his hips. _Keep your mouth shut, lion. Keep your mouth shout or you are going to say something you regret._ The words repeated like a litany in his head.

Lucy sighed and sunk deeper under the water as Plue paddled off to splash around, “It seems like almost every time we go up against a really advanced mage, my clothes end up getting shredded. It’s embarrassing and annoying.”

Loke nodded carefully, trying not to mentally picture all the times he saw Lucy in nothing more than scraps of shredded clothing.

“And then when we faced that dragon Zirconis with the eclipse gate, he deliberately destroyed all my clothes in order to throw off my confidence and mess with my magic due to my embarrassment,” Lucy said matter-of-factly. “I am glad that Natsu caught me and gave me his jacket so at least I had something.”

“Wait, Natsu has also seen you naked,” Loke blurted, stunned.

“Not the point, Loke,” Gray growled.

“Right, sorry,” Loke apologized. “So I am still confused at how this relates to skill building.”

Lucy blushed faintly pink again, “Ur’s training with Gray was often unclothed so he could get used to using his magic in any environmental condition. Nudity never bothered him and it doesn’t throw off his magic if his clothes are destroyed. So I am working on something kind of similar…”

“I’m sure Gray has been a BIG help with this,” Loke said sarcastically shooting a glare at his friend.

“Bigger than you know,” Gray said in a flirty tone he knew would get a rise out of the lion, before saying in a more normal tone after Lucy glared at him, “It does take practice and when Lucy approached me with the idea a few months ago, we have been working on getting her more comfortable being nude in traditionally vulnerable situations – like public bathing, soaking, or sleeping.”

Loke’s mind started racing, but before he could get too far, Lucy’s voice pulled him back.

“The idea, is if I can get to the point where I am not worrying about what I am wearing/not wearing, and just focus on calling my magic, I am stronger. Since I have been working on it, it seems to make using the Star Form dresses easier as well.”

Loke ran a hand through his hair, and tamped down the jealousy that was churning in his stomach at the thought of how many times Gray must have seen his Lucy naked. He sighed, “That makes sense. It takes a certain level of innate comfort with yourself to be able to use them and channel celestial magic. From what I saw earlier with you requipping several different forms easily, whatever you do seems to be working.”

Lucy nodded.

“But Luce,” Loke smiled then smirked, “If you need help practicing getting naked in front of more people, I would be glad to volunteer my services as an objective bystander.”

Lucy glared at Loke. “Don’t make me close your Gate, Lion. Wait, how are you still here anyway? I don’t feel your pull on my magic reserves.”

“I switched from your power to mine to stay here, when I switched to human form for that little Unison Raid, earlier,” Loke smirked. “You aren’t the only one who has been working on their skills.”

“Plue Plue!”

The little spirit bounced happily and splashed, drawing Loke’s attention to him. “So what was that with Plue earlier?”

“Look man, are you getting in the spring or not,” Gray interrupted. “We are getting cricks in our neck looking up at you.”

Loke quickly shucked off his clothing and stepped into the water. He noticed that Lucy focused on Plue and very distinctly avoided looking at him until he was half covered by the water.

“Since all of my Silvers saw how Yukino’s Silvers were able to assist her in combat, they have all wanted to help more,” Lucy answered his question once Loke had settled. “Most of mine aren’t really combat-trained, so I am keeping my eye out for any new silver keys that may help there, but in the meantime we are working on developing the skills they have. Plue is the little dog, so we are working on his tracking skills. Grandpa Crux is working with Hibiki from Blue Pegasus on archive and research magic, Horologium is working on extending his endurance for being in the human world and Lyra found out that certain tones when played discordantly can cause extreme discomfort in the listener.”

Loke looked impressed, “most Silvers are happy in their innate celestial abilities. I can’t think of any examples off-hand where they have actively sought out a different skill. Hell, most Golds don’t bother either.”

“Really?” Lucy responded, slightly surprised. “That seems strange. Why wouldn’t you want to learn what you can?”

It was Loke’s turn to blush and run a hand through his hair, “well, all of us take our drive from our owner. You are a very rare owner, Lucy Heartfilia. It’s been millennia since any one Celestial mage held more than 3 gold keys and you hold 10. Hell, you could have had Libra and Pisces too – Yukino offered them to you when you beat her, but your honor and drive are so strong. It shouldn’t be surprising that you bring that out of all the spirits in your care. Even the Spirit King comes when you need him,” Loke grinned sheepishly, ”You are shaking up the Celestial World as much as Natsu tends to shake up this one.”

Lucy was momentarily shaken by the intensity in Loke’s voice. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Wasn’t there a 13th key, Ophi- something other?” Gray asked, shifting in the water.

“Ophiuchus,” Lucy corrected. “I don’t know what happened to her after we defeated the Eclipse Spirit King. She was absorbed into the Celestial World but neither Yukino or I ever found her key.”

“Wait, you defeated the Spirit King, when and how, and why don’t any of us Spirits know about it?” Loke was confused.

“When we won, it shifted reality back to normal, and consequently erased your memory of that time,” Lucy replied, “Even the Spirit King only remembered it as a half-fleeting dream. Do you remember when we all appeared in the Spirit Realm seemingly for no reason?”

“Yes,” Loke said cautiously, “I remember feeling weird, like something had gone wrong, but it disappeared quickly. Are you saying there was a battle with Ophiuchus? She’s just a story in the Celestial World. She doesn’t actually exist.”

Lucy and Gray looked at each other before turning to look at Loke. “Ummm… Loke,” Lucy said carefully, “Ophiuchus is real. Yukino found her key initially, but that contract was broken and it seems to have disappeared after the battle.”

“I am the leader of the Zodiac, Lucy,” Loke replied, his head spinning. “There are only 12 Gold keys. There are hundreds of silvers keys, but none are the 13th Gate.”

“Ophiuchus’ key is black,” Gray replied quietly. “I remember because I had never seen a black key.”

Loke gasped, “Black keys aren’t supposed to exist! It’s a legend, even in our world.”

“Loke,” Lucy said softly moving to sit by him and put her hand on his arm. “I promise I will tell you the whole story another night. But please believe me, Ophiuchus was/is a real spirit… and a very dangerous one.”

“Wait!” Gray had a sudden thought, “Luce, what if that is where all those threats are coming from? What if someone found her key?”

Lucy shuddered and the water rippled around her, “That would be bad. Very bad… she took out everyone – Natsu, Erza, you, Levy, Wendy, and Gajeel. We barely beat her.”

Loke was stunned at her words. He coughed as the ache in his chest tightened, “How did you defeat her?”

Lucy replied, “It took all the combined celestial magic of Hisui, Yukino, and me to stop the funnel of energy in to the Eclipse Spirit King. Once we were able to stop the flow, Natsu was able to take out the King from the inside out and return everything back to normal.”

“You were without magic for a week after,” Gray said quietly, swallowing hard. “I talked to Sting a few months later. Yukino was powerless for a month. I can only guess at the Princess.”

“It took her a year to fully recover,” Lucy responded, “She told me after Tartaros. She was upset at not being able to help more.” She sighed. “All we can do is hope that whoever is sending me those threats, it has nothing to do with the 13th Gate. I still think it is probably just a stalker from when I was working at Sorcerer Magazine. It’s not a big deal – just some weirdo.”

“Maybe,” Gray replied, “but we shouldn’t rule it out.”

“I won’t,” Lucy replied. “But could we please talk more about this later? I really just want to soak in quiet and relax in this heavenly water.”

“Sure Luce,” Gray said and moved over to the far end of the pool, motioning Loke to join him.

Loke watched as Lucy sat back against a rock and closed her eyes, completely ignoring them or at least doing a good impression of it. At Gray’s motion, he joined the other man.

“I know I don’t know the whole story, but are you sure that it could be Ophiuchus?” Loke asked quietly.

“I don’t want to but I think that’s the likeliest answer,” Gray replied, equally as quiet. “This is more intense and personal than a normal stalker. The thing is, I can see the true malice behind the words as can Levy, and Makarov, but it’s like whenever Lucy reads them, they don’t seem to have the same impact on her, and the more I bring it up the more dismissive she gets. It’s almost like there’s a spell or something on it or her that keeps her from taking it seriously.”

“Maybe there is,” Loke said thoughtfully. “Can you get me one of the threats? I can pop it back into the Spirit World and check with the King. He would be able to cut through any glamour on it.”

“Yeah, I can do that,” Gray replied. “How fast can you get back with an answer?”

“With the current time fluctuations between the worlds, I can be back in a day or two,” Loke responded. “Of course, Lucy can always call me back earlier if needed.”

“We should be ok for the next few days,” Gray said as he glanced over at Lucy. “We will claim our reward tomorrow and then head back to Magnolia. I think I can keep her there for at least a week.”

“Yeah, you and your naked training, what more is happening between you, huh?” sudden, irrational anger, hit Loke and he hissed, pain sharp in his chest.  
  
Gray just looked at him.

Loke drew in a breath and tried to calm down, “Sorry. That was uncalled for, I know you are trying to genuinely help.”

Gray coughed lightly, covering his mouth. “I am… but there’s also something I think you should know. I… uh… saw what you hid in your pocket earlier.”

Loke immediately tried to deflect, “I don’t-“

Gray held up one hand to silence him. “Trust me, I understand. Probably more than anyone else.” He opened his other hand where only Loke could see it. Laying on his palm was an ice tinged sunflower petal.


	3. Fireworks

“Wait, What!” Loke sputtered and Gray put a hand on his mouth and glanced quickly to make sure that Lucy wasn’t watching. Breathing a sigh of relief as she still had her eyes closed, he slowly lowered his hand, glaring at Loke in a way that told him to keep his voice down.   
  
Loke went on in quieter tones, “what is happening Gray? First me and then you? What are these flowers?”  
  
Gray glanced at Lucy again. “I promise to explain everything when we get back to our rooms tonight. I don’t want to alert Lucy. She doesn’t know about this.”  
  
Loke bit his lip in frustration but nodded. “You will tell me everything, right?”   
  
“I promise,” Gray said, “but for now, try to enjoy the water, this may be the last chance you get at relaxation that you will get for a while, if you decide to stay in Earthland with us on this.”  
  
“Then I am not going to spend it naked next to you,” Loke replied and moved away from the other man and towards Lucy.  
  
On her end of the pool, with her eyes closed, Lucy could hear the guys murmuring, but not enough to make out what they were saying. _Maybe I should be trying to pay more attention, but this water feels so good._ Her hand brushed up against Plue and she felt the little spirit vibrate with happiness. _Whatever it is, if it’s important, they will let me know. Probably just guy stuff._  
  
Lucy felt the water shift around her and knew when a body sat down next to her. She fought back the instinctive reaction to cover up or shriek, instead opening her eyes slowly to see Loke looking at her with an oddly intense expression on his face. _What is that look?_ Lucy blinked and the expression shifted to his usual flirty glance, making Lucy wonder if it had really been there. “What is it, Lion? I am trying to enjoy my soak.”  
  
Loke pulled a washcloth out of the air. With a sultry tone he added, “I thought I would offer to wash your back.”   
  
Lucy ruthlessly pushed back the flutter in her stomach at his words, glad the warm water covered her goosebumps at the image that had flashed her mind about his touching her naked body. _No! He’s your spirit!_ “Not a chance, cat. Can’t you bother Gray instead?”  
  
“Who says I want him around?” Gray said dryly, sliding up on her other side a cool swirl of water caressing her in a way that brought back that flutter and hardened her nipples under the water.   
  
_Get a grip, Lucy Heartfilia! This is Gray and Loke! Both can be huge flirts. Both are also extremely competitive, so if you don’t stop this, it’s probably going to get out of control, and most importantly, they are your friends and not silly crushes!_ Lucy tried to force herself to think about anything but the two naked men next to her, grateful for once that neither had Natsu’s sense of smell.   
  
“Aw, everything is better when I am around,” Loke replied, completely unaware of the thoughts racing in Lucy’s mind. “Isn’t that right, Princess?”  
  
“Better at making trouble, at least,” Lucy replied. “I think my relaxing is done. I am going to head back to the Inn, and try to get a good night’s sleep before turn that mage in tomorrow. Are you guys done or do you want to stay here for a bit more?”  
  
Gray glanced at Loke, “I’m ready to head back. If we get an early start tomorrow, we may make it back to the Guild Hall in time for the Festival of the Masks.”  
  
Lucy brightened, “Oh! I had forgotten about that!”  
  
“I thought you might have,” Gray smiled at her. “I know you- errr.. I had a lot of fun last year, so I was hoping that we could make it back in time.”  
  
“I haven’t been to the Festival of Masks in Magnolia in a few years,” Loke said brightly. “I think I will hang around with you guys for a few days before heading back to the Spirit World. You don’t mind, right?” He gave Gray an arch smile.  
  
“Not at all,” Gray gave him the same look in return.  
  
“Great,” Lucy said, pushing herself up and reaching for a towel, stepping out of the water with droplets glistening on her skin. “Plue… it’s time to head back!” she called. Without thought, she held her hand out to the little spirit and started walking towards her clothes, her on the upcoming festival and completely unaware of the stunned expressions on the faces of the two men sitting in the pool behind her.   
  


*********************

Gray had barely shut the door to his room at the inn, when Loke pounced, pinning him to the door. “Tell me everything, NOW!”

With a sigh, Gray let icy spikes cover his body and the Lion Spirit jumped back. “I was about to. Chill out, dude.” He pulled the spikes back and sat on the edge of the bed, motioning to Loke to sit in the only chair in the room. He ran a hand through his hair and paused. “Now I don’t know where to start.”

“How about you start with when you started falling for Lucy. I thought after everything with Alvarez Empire and Achnologia, you were going to try to have a relationship with Juvia.”

Gray sighed again, “I tried… and during it all, I kept thinking back to when Lucy and I were trying to save Natsu, and how our magic merged to find the right passages to rewrite. I know she loved him, and I honestly thought that I loved Juvia, but it… just didn’t work out for either of us. I know part of Lucy will always love Natsu, and a part of me will always love and be grateful for all that Juvia did for me, but we just aren’t quite right, ya know? It’s like, once the war was over, we weren’t the same people anymore.”

“I think so,” Loke said slowly, thinking about the way Capricorn had fallen for Lucy’s mother and the way it had tortured them both, knowing that even despite their love, their lives and duties had required that they remain apart.

“Juvia is happy now with Lyon, and Natsu is… well… Natsu. He’s a dragon and will always be one. He cares deeply about his friends and the Guild, but I don’t know if he can love the same way a human can.”

“I’m a celestial spirit and I know that I truly love Lucy,” Loke said defensively.

“I don’t really understand the metaphysics of it all, but I kind of think that since celestial spirits are bound to their owners in order to do magic, they have to be able to have a connection capable of human emotion,” Gray replied.

“Gee Gray, you sound almost smart there,” Loke tried to tease.

“I’ve been doing a lot of research with Levy lately. She’s trying to figure out her relationship with Gajeel.”

“Ugh, that’s a complicated one, and if Dragon’s don’t quite feel human emotion, then…” Loke trailed off.

“It’s a weird kind of love mixed with possession, but it seems to work for her. I don’t get it, but hey, whatever gets you off,” Gray responded.

“So how do you know about celestial spirits ability to actually love?”

Gray put a hand to the back of his neck. “Because I know you man. I have been your friend for years. I also know that despite your flirting with other people, you have been crazy about Lucy pretty much since the beginning, only you didn’t know what it was.”

“And you?” Loke asked and started coughing. In a moment, he crushed another petal in his hand. “If you knew I liked her, why did you start liking her too? And what does all of this have to do with these damn things?”

“Dude, it’s not exactly like I had a choice in falling for her. It was all these little moments that just added up to something and I realized one day, that I would do anything, to be with her… even if she didn’t feel the same for me.” Gray grimaced, “maybe I do understand Levy and Gajeel.”

Loke sighed, “I get it. I didn’t want to admit it either and now she just thinks that I flirt with her the way I use to flirt with everyone else. It sucks. So what are these petals?”

“It’s called Hanahaki disease,” Gray answered. “Lucy and I were doing a job for Porlyusica and she caught me coughing one up. It sounds weird, but basically a flower starts growing inside of you, when you have pure but unrequited love for another person. It’s extremely rare and only develops when the connection goes beyond love into something deeper and more, or so she says. I tried getting her to explain what that meant but she shooed me off.”

“Can it be cured?” Loke asked.

“Yes, but not easily,” Gray hesitated. “It will be cured if the person you love returns your feelings just as deeply, and if they don’t then you die. The only other option is to take a potion that will remove the flower and ALL of the feelings you ever had or will ever have for that person will disappear. Porlyusica described it as wiping that person out of your existence completely.”

Loke shuddered, “Neither of those sound good.”

Gray nodded. “I have been able to keep some of my symptoms down by using my ice-make magic, but since you showed up, it’s not working as well anymore.”

“What, jealous of little ol’ me?” Loke smirked.

Gray looked at him levelly, “Yes.”

Loke stopped smirking.

“It was manageable when you were flirting before, because I didn’t think it was deep enough to be a threat. Now I see it is.”

Loke tensed, “what are you going to do about it?”

“I don’t know,” Gray responded honestly. “You are still my friend and I respect you. As far as I can see, all I can do is continue what I am doing and hope that Lucy eventually loves me in return. I’m cold, but I don’t know if I am cold enough to cut her out of my life so completely.”

“Yeah,” it was Loke’s turn to run a hand through his hair. “I’m not going to stop trying to make her love me. You know that right?”

“I know.”

“So what are we going to do?” Loke asked.

“Right now, I am going to go to sleep. Tomorrow we get our reward and then head back to the Guild. All the rest, we will just have to see.”

********************

The next morning saw Gray, Lucy, and Loke heading back to the location where they fought the mage. Just as Gray had predicted, the night spent in the forest hadn’t hurt him, and the mage was glaring at the trio when they returned.

“Thought you were gonna leave me here to rot,” the mage grumped.

“Nah, the bounty was worth more for you alive then dead,” Lucy replied with a slightly malevolent tone. “Though why you thought pissing off a god and his followers was a good idea, I have no clue. But that’s not our business. Gray, can you get him ready for travel?”

“My pleasure,” Gray responded with that same tone and with a wave of his hand removed the ice cage and created a chain to lead him with. The mage paled slightly, as Gray pulled him roughly to his feet.

“You gonna take me back to them pansies,” the mage sulked.

“No, we are taking you to the sheriff and he can work with the priesthood and determine what they are going to do with you. My guess is a magical prison,” Lucy responded. “Maybe some of your ‘clients’ can come visit.”

The mage paled and started to plead with them, but Loke slapped a piece of tape over his mouth. “I was already getting sick of him. Shall we get this over?”

Leading their captive, the three heading back into town towards the sheriff’s office. Once there, it took a surprisingly small amount of time for the sheriff to compare the bounty, place the mage in a cell, and give the trio a letter they could take back to the Temple to claim their reward. Skipping out of the office, Lucy grinned. “500,000 jewel! Not bad for a few days’ work. I might even have enough left this month to get a few trinkets at the Festival.”

Gray smiled at Lucy, “Then let’s do it! The Temple isn’t too far and we can catch the afternoon train back to Fiore.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Lucy replied as she started walking towards the Temple visible on a rise just outside of town.

Less than fifteen minutes later, Lucy, Gray, and Loke walked through the arch leading onto the temple grounds. Following an impeccably manicured path, surrounded by flowers, they wound their way past benches and fountains until they reached the steps of the temple.

“It’s so pretty here,” Lucy said with a smile as she leaned into smell a flower winding its way up a column at the base of the building.

“Thank you, we honor the Flower Maiden and her Consorts by maintaining the grounds for them and respecting their ways,” a pretty woman wearing a flowing pastel green dress replied. Two men in the same color breeches stood a few paces behind her. A thin gold circlet held her long red braid back from her face. “Have you come to honor them as well? We welcome all who wish to join us. For we are all family.”

Lucy started, then caught herself. A carefully crafted look of casualness appeared on her face.

“Thank you, but no,” Gray said with a smile and a side-long glance at Lucy. “We are mages from Fairy Tail and have a completed the job that you requested of us.” He pulled out the letter and handed it to her. “We have just come from the sheriff’s office.”

“That is welcome news as well,” the woman replied. “My name is Naia, I am the head acolyte of the Order, please follow me inside and we will gather your reward.”

They followed her into the building, Gray whistling under his breath at the ornate marble arches, with streaks of gold running through their veins, and the alcoves filled with soft pastel cushions and low tables. Bouquets of fresh flowers were everywhere. Many of the other acolytes, priests, and priestesses sat together talking or reading. Some turned to look at them as they passed, but most continued on as they were.

Naia led them through a stout wooded door into a large room. Three elaborately carved desks sat curved at one end, and couches and chairs sat together in small groupings. Behind the three desks sat a beautiful middle aged woman with silver streaked auburn hair and two handsome men both with silver at their temples – one black haired and the other light brown. She gestured for Loke, Lucy and Gray to have a seat on one of the couches in front of the desks and then handed the letter to the woman in the middle.

The woman opened it and smiled before saying, “Welcome Fairy Tail mages. I am Magna and this is Krys and Tommas,” she gestured to the men on either side of her. “Naia, will you please pour tea and set out some refreshments for our guests? We would like to hear about the capture of our unfortunate former acolyte. Please tell Jais to prepare the reward and bring it in.”

Naia nodded and bowed her head on her way out. Within a moments, she had returned with several others, a tea tray, and a plates of scones, fruit, and cream. As she set the refreshments down in front of the mages, Lucy and Gray started telling the story of how they caught up to the Dark Mage and how they took him down. After a few questions, the elders seemed satisfied.

“I wish that all who came to the Flower Maiden were pure of heart, but snakes still can be found in the garden,” Magna said. “Most are harmless, but the ones that destroy the peace and beauty, must be caught and dealt with. It is an unfortunate part of life.”

A soft knock echoed through the room, before the door opened and another young woman, this time with soft pink hair falling loose at her shoulders, came into the room carrying a suede bag.

“Ah Jais,” Krys said genially. “You are right on time, please give the reward to our guests. I know they will want to finish and be on their way. I hear there are Festivals coming up in Fiore.”

Jais bowed her head and turned to the three sitting mages. With a start, she froze and her face went blank, a soft lilting voice emerging from her throat. “Star and Ice by Spirit Bound, pull the Serpent to the ground. Choices made or fall apart by the strength of Fairy Heart.” A shudder passed through her body and she seemed to return to normal. “Oh no, did it happen again?” she looked pleadingly at Magna.

“No worries child, it is your gift,” Magna said soothingly. “An interesting turn of events though.” She looked at the three. “It looks like there is more to you three than just average wizards. The Flower Maiden has an interest in you.”

Lucy looked at Gray and Loke uneasily, “Was that a prophecy of some sort?”

“Sort of,” Tommas replied. “there is something you three have to do and a choice that needs to be made at the end of it.” He smiled as gently as Magna had to Jais. “Knowing Fairy Tail and all that has happened lately, I can tell you that Jais’s prophecies from the Flower Maiden are not about world changing events… at least not on the scale of a Tartaros or Achnologia. They are however, about life changing flowers in the garden of the universe for the ones receiving it.”

“I’m not getting it,” Loke said. “I’m a celestial spirit. I should be immune to prophecies.”

“You are something more than just a celestial spirit,” Krys said, “maybe that’s why you are involved. Anyway, that was meant for you three and you three will have to eventually figure it out. May the Flower Maiden and her Consorts bless you.”

“Thank you,” Lucy said formally, stood and accepted the bag from Jais. “We thank you as well for the refreshments. Your Temple is lovely and we will gladly accept the blessings of the Flower Maiden and her Consorts. Now we must take our leave and return to our Guild.” She curtsied perfectly.

Gray and Loke stood as well, and at a sharp look from Lucy, both bowed their heads slightly.

“Safe Travels, young ones,” Magna and the three of them nodded.

Lucy, Loke and Gray exited through the doors. As soon as they cleared the Temple, Loke asked, “What was that about?”

“I am not sure,” Lucy replied, “but I remember learning about the Temple of the Flower Maiden during my lessons, and they are an unusual religion. They are a light religion, but some of their practices are… ummm… a bit, well, hedonistic.” Lucy blushed.

Gray looked at her as they continued walking the garden path towards the Archway leading off the Temple Grounds. “What do you mean by unusual and hedonistic?”

Lucy started to speak again, but was interrupted by Jais running to them.

“Fairy Lady,” Jais breathed heavily as she caught up to them. “I have something for you. The Maiden told me you would need this.” She thrust a cylindrical object at Lucy before running off again.

“Wait-“ Lucy called after her, but the girl was gone. She looked at the object in her hands. It was a sealed tube with a cone on the top. The entire thing was wrapped in embossed brocade paper. “This looks like a firework of some type.”

Gray took it from her and rolled it over in his hands. “It’s definitely a firework of some type, but I don’t see a fuse. How is this supposed to help us?”

“I honestly have no idea,” Lucy replied as they exited the property. “But right now, I don’t care. The job is done, we got paid, and we are heading back in time for the Festival. That’s all that matters.”

“Right,” Loke said. “Last one to the train station has to babysit Natsu at the Festival!”

The three friends took off running back towards town.


End file.
